Trouble With Laundry
by sKaEtrgrL
Summary: Danny didn’t expect his mom to find his jumpsuit in the dryer. It’s not like he fell asleep on purpose! One-shot of Danny/Maddie son/mother bonding.


**A/N: I've been trying to be more active on my account and although I'm working on a lot of stories right now, these silly little one/two shots I keep doing are great stress relievers and fantastic for my boredom when I run out of stories to read. This is just an ADHD idea that popped into my head that still has me snickering at it, so I hope you enjoy it! It's currently 11:17 pm, but it's a Friday and I don't (think) I have anything to do tomorrow so let's see if I can finish this tonight!**

**Trouble With Laundry**

To say Danny was frustrated was an understatement. His suit had practically been shredded to pieces and saturated in ectoplasm by a gnarly ghostly porcupine, and now he was sitting on the edge of his bed in nothing but his boxers, scowling harshly at his sliding closet doors. With a sigh, Danny pulled out the small sewing kit at the bottom of his closet and tossed it on his bed before pulling on a pair of gym shorts and a navy blue and white hooded shirt that had NASA written in the upper left hand corner over his heart.

Sam has been forced to go to a beauty pageant for the night and Tucker's family were visiting some relatives in New York for an entire month, which meant that he didn't have help with sewing the demolished jumpsuit. After all, it's not like the suit was anything special. Mentally, the simplistic and not very flattering material was important, but it didn't have any special ghostly qualities that made it heal or anything. Whenever the jumpsuit got torn or ripped or soaked and dried with something (usually blood), and couldn't simply be phased off, Danny had to wash it. Usually Tucker would let him borrow his washing machine and they'd play video games until it was done. Sam usually would repair any holes made in the cloth. But as was stated earlier, both of them were gone, and as much as Danny wanted to, he wasn't going to intrude and invade vacant homes.

The white haired teen let a small yip of pain escape his lips as he accidentally pricked his finger with the sewing needle, eyebrows scrunched together as he sucked delicately on his finger. Another moment later and he resumed his work, inhaling and exhaling deeply in agitation. It would've been nice if the suit repaired itself, and it would've been nice if he could shift into his human form without the jumpsuit disappearing. It was strange, but Danny couldn't keep the suit in his human form. So, he begrudgingly had decided that he'd have to repair the mutilated hazmat suit before washing it. His parents were at a mini ghost convention downtown and weren't supposed to be home for a few more hours, which meant that even at Danny's quickest pace he'd be cutting it close. It usually took a good two hours or so to do laundry, and with all the holes in the suit he could easily add another hour to that. He would've asked Jazz to help him, but she was driving to Harvard and then to Yale, inspecting the campuses and deeming whether they were worthy of her or not. She was almost done with schooling, what with school getting out in a week, and soon enough Danny would be a senior.

Danny gently poked the needle into the fabric, setting the suit down for a moment and running his already cramping hands through his hair. It'd barely been fifteen minutes, and he wasn't anywhere close to being done. With a large sigh, Danny walked downstairs, going to the kitchen and pulling out a box of Mac N Cheese, bringing a pot of water to a boil on the stove. Danny gingerly flew up to the second floor, grabbing his suit and phone before lazily sinking back down to the kitchen. Turning on some chill music by _Peachy!, _the young teen began the long process of sewing once again. After all, he had to be precise about his stitching. He went out in public wearing it, so having poor stitches seen would wound his pride a little bit.

The water came to a boil, and Danny's toxic green eyes glanced blandly at the stove. With a huff, he forced himself out of the wooden chair at the kitchen table, walking to the water and pouring the uncooked Kraft product in. He'd go back and stir it every few minutes, then return to sewing. Within ten minutes or so, the tiny noodles were ready to be strained. Danny yawned loudly, his face scrunching up a little before returning to his tired and neutral look.

Soon enough, he was silently eating his cheesy pasta and getting a stitch or two on the suit between each bite. With a lazy glance at his phone, Danny gave a deadpanned look at the clock that read 9:48. His parents were supposed to be back before midnight. Quickly finishing his food off and washing his dishes, Danny refocused all his attention to the cloth, getting into a steady rhythm.

By the time he was done, it had already been another twenty minutes. He quickly tossed the dried ectoplasm-covered item into the wash, and glared at the 45 minutes he'd have to wait before switching the laundry out. Laying down on his bed and pulling his white hoodie over his head, the tired Halfa relaxed in his bed, earbuds firmly in his ears as he studied for Mr. Lancer's exam the next day.

A quick glance at his phone and it was already 10:56. The laundry had to be done by now. Danny walked to the laundry room, his bare feet silent against the light tiles. Danny quickly switched the laundry out when he was satisfied before turning back to go to his room. He was tired, and quite honestly ready for bed, but he couldn't fall asleep. If he did, there were a lot of problems that could happen. First, he could end up turning human, leaving his suit wet and cold. Another horrible option was his parents coming home and seeing the ghost boy laying in their son's bed in his clothes.

Danny tried, he really did, but his eyes began to close, and with the thought of a few minutes not harming anybody, the ghostly being drifted into a fitful sleep.

***•*•*•**

Maddie hopped out of the driver seat, silently closing the door. Jack was gently shaken awake by the woman in a teal hazmat suit, and the burly man nodded as he lumbered up the front steps and up the stairs to the master bedroom. The thin woman locked the car, as well as the front door before making her way up the stairs as well. Just as she passed the laundry room, she heard a faint beeping noise coming from the laundry room.

_Funny, I'm usually the one doing all the laundry,_ she thought to herself as she walked into the tiny room. She rubbed at her eyes with one fist, opening the dryer and pulling out the black and silvery white clothing from inside. Frowning at the material, Maddie wondered who's hazmat suit it was. After all, Jack and her were the only ones who wore them, and the thin and small item didn't belong to either of them. It seemed to be Danny's size, so she shrugged her shoulders and walked into her son's room to set the cloth on his dresser. She gave a small smile when she saw her son's lamp on, papers sprawled across his bed and the boy himself bent in an awkward position, his hoodie covering a majority of his face.

With a small chuckle, Maddie walked to the lamp, flicking the tiny switch at its base.

The poor woman had no way to expect what happened after that.

Danny's body was glowing, a silvery aura surrounding his body. With a relatively loud yelp of surprise, Danny bolted upright, toxic green eyes staring at deep lavender. Danny let loose a loud screech to answer his mother's own as he scooted back and tipped off the side of his bed, a quick flash of light temporarily blinding the confused and anxious mother. Only a moment later did Danny pop up in a pair of red high top Converse, loose blue jeans, and a loose fitting long navy blue sleeved shirt replacing his NASA shirt and gym shorts.

"M-mom! Wha-uh, what're you doing in here?" Danny's head stuck up over the edge of his bed, hands placed next to his face and an eyebrow arched in curiosity and... was that fear in his eyes?

Maddie frowned as she folded her arms. "Well, you left what seemed to be a hazmat suit in the laundry, so I-" She frowned at the spot where the suit had been, confused as to where it went. "I swear I just had it..."

Danny feigned ignorance.

Maddie didn't buy it.

"So, what was that flash of light? Why were your eyes glowing? How'd you change your clothes so fast? Are you possessed by a ghost, Danny?"

"What? No, of course not! Why would I be possessed?" He cocked his head to the side before lugging himself back onto the bed, still staring at his mother and brushing her other questions to the side.

The older woman sighed before sitting down, running a hand through her hair (obviously her son had the same nervous tick she did). "Danny, you know you can talk to me, right? You can tell me anything."

"I know, Mom." It was barely a whisper, almost as if he was longing to say more but couldn't. "Trust me, I know."

Maddie's brows scrunched together, confusion and worry written across her soft features. "Then why have you been so distant lately?" Danny flinched, Maddie taking note of the small reaction. "Honey, do you think your father and I don't notice how strange you've been acting these past few years? The way your grades have dropped? How you sneak out almost every single night?" Another wince. "Yeah. We notice that, Danny. I don't know where you go or what you're doing, but your dad and I have been so concerned about you, especially as of late. We just... are you _positive_ there isn't anything you want to tell me?"

Danny hesitated, looking into his mother's eyes before staring down at his feet. "Uh, thanks for the offer Mom, but I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet. It's nothing bad though, if that's what your wondering. Don't worry about it."

"Danny, of _course_ I'm going to worry about you. You're my _son_. No matter what happens, you'll _always_ be my son. You can't change that, and neither can I. You're my baby boy, and your father and I will always love and support you, okay?" She gingerly placed her hand on his shoulder before drawing him in for a hug. "I'll be patient and wait for now, but one day, hopefully soon, you'll feel comfortable to discuss whatever's been bothering you these past two years."

Danny nodded and the two gave eachother a hug and said a quick 'I love you' before going their seperate ways. Maddie left the room, and Danny quickly placed his homework in a neat pile on his dresser. He gingerly poked his head out into the hallway before closing his door, allowing familiar white rings to wash over his body. His ethereal form floated a little, a soft silvery glow making him seem like the moon. He forced his feet to touch the ground, taking large strides towards where the folded jumpsuit had been located.

It wasn't there.

_What in the name of Clockwork?!_

Danny couldn't help but feel a little panicked. His breathing became hitched, and he sat down heavily in the chair at his desk. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing down at his body in hopes the hazmat suit had somehow ended up on his slim but strong frame.

His hopes were squashed when he saw his comfy outfit inverted into a more ghostly form. His once blue sleeved NASA hoodie with white for the majority of it now consisted of toxic green sleeves and hoodie, the white now a deep midnight black. The small NASA logo was replaced with a silvery white DP logo (don't ask him how because he didn't know how either), and his once black gym shorts with two white lines on the sides were now a silvery white with deep black lines. He hadn't had shoes on before, but (strangely) black high top converse with a DP logo on the sides with neon green laces were comfortably placed on his feet.

Danny frowned, but he honestly didn't mind the new outfit. Granted he _really_ liked that NASA hoodie...

With a shrug of his shoulders at his new predicament, the Halfa allowed his form to shift back into Danny Fenton and he quickly fell into a blissfully blank sleep.

*•*•*•*

The next day was warm and bright, the light shining into a teenager's space themed room. The boy groaned in annoyance, flipping his body the other way so his back faced the curtains.

Just as the ravenette was dozing off again, a loud noise echoed through his room, prompting blue eyes to fling wide open. Danny sat up, staring at the door to his room as Jack bellowed a loud good morning. With a declaration of sausages and toast for breakfast, the giant orange man left, leaving Danny to flip backwards once more.

Ancients, he _hated _mornings.

With an agitated sigh, the Halfa removed his phone from the charger, glancing at the time. Why in Clockwork's name would his dad wake him up at six on a _weekend_? Danny glared harshly at the device before placing it back on the charger and promptly faceplanting into his pillow, drawing his blankets up to his neck. Screw sausages and toast. He didn't like toast, and the sausages were probably alive. Not wanting to deal with mutated man eating sausages any time before eight, the lanky teen allowed himself to fall asleep once more.

A few hours later, and Danny woke up of his own accord, showering and brushing his teeth before returning to his room to pick out an outfit for the day. Opting for something comfortable, he chose a loose quarter sleeve shirt, the sleeves a vibrant red while the rest was a soft creamy white. He put on some relaxed loose fitting khaki shorts, as well as his red Converse. He remembered when he'd worn flip flops almost everyday, but quickly learned after the accident that it's extremely difficult to run in flip flops.

Danny trudged down the stairs, grabbing the Captain Crunch cereal he'd hidden in the back of a cupboard near the oven. Pouring a bowl and adding milk, he ate silently, enjoying the quietness. He could barely hear his parents making clanking noises in the basement, most likely working on a new gadget of some sort. It'd have to do with ghosts one way or another, that much was obvious.

Danny took a deep breath, practically inhaling the last bite of his cereal and drinking the remainder of the milk before rinsing the dishes out and placing them in the dishwasher. The frumpy looking teen made his way down the metal stairs of the lab, sitting down in his dad's large and comfortable chair. Might as well watch what they were doing. It's not like he had anything better to do anyways.

Despite what most people thought, Danny was just as brilliant as his parents. However, it was extremely difficult to do well in classes like English and history when he wasn't at school most of the time to learn.

"Hey, Dann-O! Whatcha doin down here? Wanna help your mom and I with our newest invention?" Danny moved his eyes from the strange gun-like item to his father's soft blue eyes.

"Oh, uh. I think I'll just watch." He smiled sheepishly, trying to deny the pang of guilt he felt when his dad's smile faltered.

"Alright then, son. I'm almost done anyways."

It was quiet for a moment, and the poor ghost kid could take no more. "I'd love to know what it is when you're done and how it works, if you don't mind."

Jack's face beamed, and he hefted the average sized gun up to his chest. "That's the spirit, Danny-O! This here's called the Fenton Beam! It's like a Fenton Thermos, but instead it keeps the ghost frozen in place! That way you can interrogate them and rip them apart molecule by molecule! Isn't that great?!"

The orange-clad man didn't notice the way his son's face cringed, but Maddie did. Danny placed a very fake smile on his face. "Oh, uh, that's great Dad!" The lanky boy abruptly stood up, turning his body towards the exit while wearily eyeing the new contraption. "Listen, I've got some, uh... homework! Yeah, homework that Mr. Lancer assigned on Friday, and I really need to finish it. Hehe..."

Maddie watched her son race up the stairs before she turned towards Jack, who had gone to add the neon green logo to the new device. The woman in teal stood up, tiptoeing up the metal stairs. "I'll be back, honey. I just need to use the restroom."

"Alright! Don't be too long! We need to see about patrolling in thirty minutes for any GHOSTS!" Maddie rolled her eyes, but made her way up the stairs anyways. She stopped though when she noticed Danny's door cracked open, and she could hear him mumbling from inside. She knew it was wrong to spy on her son, but with how distant he'd been she felt any information was better than no information.

"-another weapon. At least this one isn't _too_ dangerous." Maddie watched him pace back and forth, throwing his hand wildly in the air while his other one held his phone to his ear. "Yes, Sam. No, I know that... You haven't even heard the half of it! My suit-... yes Sam. I'm pretty sure I don't have another jumpsuit." He rolled his eyes, sighing loudly. "Anyways, ya know my suit? Well I had to stitch it up and wash it last night, right? Well, I accidentally fell asleep working on homework for Lancer's class and- _yes_. I actually do my homework when I have time, Sam. Anyways, back to what I was saying, I fell asleep, and my mom found it in the dryer last night... No! Thank the Ancients she doesn't know! Do you realize how bad that'd be?" Maddie stared wide eyed as Danny placed his hands on his hips, holding his phone between his shoulder and head. "Oh, hey Mom! It turns out you found my jumpsuit that I masquerade in to fight ghosts in! And I'm your worst enemy! Hahaha!" He glared at his wall, oblivious to the wide eyed woman peeking through the crack of his door. "Like that'd turn out well. And ya know my favorite NASA hoodie? Well-No! I didn't _ruin_ it." He sighed loudly, plopping onto his bed. "I'll just show you later, m'kay? Ughs, listen I gotta go. I told my parents I'd be doing my homework, and-... the park? Yeah, I'll be there in fifteen minutes with my homework. Okay, love ya too Sam. Bye." He hung up, running his hands down his face.

Maddie slowly and quietly walked to the bathroom, thinking about what her son and his girlfriend had just discussed. What did he mean by masquerading in that jumpsuit to fight ghosts? Was he a ghost hunter? Maybe he was the Red Huntress... but he's not a girl, so that wouldn't work. Plus, that jumpsuit had been black! None of this made any sense! And what did he mean by worst enemy?

She groaned in frustration before walking down to the lab, not daring to look into her son's room again. Jack looked up at his wife, fudge smeared around the corners of his mouth. "You ready to go patrol, sweetheart?"

Maddie nodded. "Yeah, lets go honey. If you don't mind, I wanna stop by the park too. I think I have a lead."

**Line skip... So close to the end!**

Danny transformed, flying out the window with his backpack, making his way to the park. It wasn't a long flight, but he took his time, looking at the city and trying to relax while he could. It wasn't often that he didn't get attacked by a ghost, so this was a nice change of pace for him.

He changed his mind when he was flung into a brick building, leaving a Danny-shaped indent in the wall. He cracked his eyes open, glaring at Skulker. He sighed loudly, picking his way out of the hole. "Mother of Clockwork, it's always you, isn't it? Can't I ever catch a break for once?"

"No, Ghost Child. You're my prey, my favorite creature to hunt. You are the only Halfa that is worthy to be hung on the mantle above my fireplace."

Danny cringed, making a gagging sound. "That's disturbing. Can't you ever, ya know, _not_ hunt me?"

"No."

The floating Halfa sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, it was worth a shot."

Skulker cocked a robotic eyebrow, pointing at Danny. "Whelp, why change your outfit? As far as I can tell, there's nothing fancy or advanced about your clothing."

Danny sighed. "Honestly, I have no clue. I was just washing my jumpsuit and I accidentally shifted back, so this is what I was wearing at the time. Granted, it's been seriously altered, but I think it's pretty cool looking. Whatcha think?"

"Hmm... it's more colorful than your previous outfit, and the green shows your ghostly status more than simple black and silver. It's an improvement, but it's still hideous."

Danny glared. "Hey! I resent that! This was one of my favorite outfits!" He charged up an ectoblast while the metallic ghost pulled out an arm cannon. Both fired, releasing mayhem upon the street that was no more than a few buildings away from the park.

**Line break... hehe...**

Maddie sighed when she and Jack hopped into the car. She was still thoroughly confused with her son's words, but at least she'd be (hopefully) finding out what it all meant soon enough.

Jack flew down the streets, a large smile covering his face. Maddie looked out the window, hoping to catch sight of Danny on his way to the park to meet up with Sam. Her eyes widened and she gripped Jack's shoulder tightly, frightening the large man. "Stop the car!" The breaks squealed loudly as the tires ripped against the pavement, the vehicle coming to an abrupt stop.

"What is it? A GHOST?!" Jack reaches behind him, grabbing the Fenton Beam and the Fenton Bazooka. Maddie nodded.

"Yes, but let's wait for a few minutes. Something isn't right about this fight..."

Maddie removed herself from the car, pulling her hood up and pulling out two Fenton Pistols. She walked slowly around the corner, watching the fight in front of her while Jack poked his head out from above her own to watch, though his fingers kept twitching on the trigger.

"Oh, seriously Skulker? I don't have time for this! I gotta meet up with someone at the park and you're just causing more harm than good." An echo blast was fired, and the robotic ghost dodged out of the way.

Maddie squinted her eyes and scrutinized the Phantom ghost. His outfit was no longer a black jumpsuit, but a black and green hoodie with his logo, white shorts with two black lines running vertically down the sides, and some black high tops with green laces and the DP logo on the inside.

Maddie felt her heart skip a beat. Words began clicking into place, the outfit change began to make sense as well as the familiarity of where she'd seen that outfit before, and her son's strange behavior became more reasonable. She flipped her red tinted goggles on, words popping up across the thick glass. She types something into the keypad that was on her left arm, and glanced at the two figures fighting above her.

Phantom crashed into the wall and slid down to the sidewalk, allowing Maddie a better view of the ghost across the street. Her goggles revealed a blue skinned boy due to the colors being inverted, but that didn't prevent Maddie from seeing the familiar black hair, as well as the outfit her son had been wearing the night before. The teal clad woman vaguely remembered Phantom had worn a black jumpsuit, and that they had gotten Danny a white one back before the portal incident.

Maddie stared intently at his face, removing the inverter mechanism on her goggles. His green eyes were glaring at Skulker, his hair hanging in his face. He had a light dusting of neon green freckles that faintly flowed like the rest of his corporeal form, and the bags under his eyes seemed to help illuminate his exhausted physical state.

"Listen Skulker, I _really_ don't have time for your stupid hunting games, so let's just finish this already. I have a date to get to." Without the echo, he'd sound exactly like... like...

Maddie found herself cupping her hands over her mouth, doing her best not to openly sob. Jack stared at his weeping wife in confusion as he gently rubbed circles into her back. "Maddie? Honey, you okay? What's wrong?"

Maddie felt her world begin to crumble. All those years, and he'd been hiding it from them. She didn't know the details, but she knew enough.

Her son, her baby Danny was dead.

Maddie felt her legs give out as she collapsed to the floor, Jack setting his guns down and kneeling beside his wife, holding her in his arms.

The couple watched _Danny_ Phantom suck Skulker into a _Fenton_ thermos and then fly away from the scene to the park. Maddie wiped her eyes before standing up, walking to the RV and sitting silently in the passenger seat. She turned to Jack, who still knelt on the pavement in confusion.

"Let's go home, Jack."

**Last line break, I swear!... I think...**

Danny sighed as he walked through the front door of his home, a small smile gracing his lips. Sam always knew what to say to him to calm him down, especially after ghost fights. He began walking up the stairs, only to hault mid stride when he felt two pairs of eyes boring into his back from the living room couch. He slowly turned, his eyes growing wide at the tear tracks on his mother's face and the lost look his father wore. He raced down the stairs, kneeling in front of his once again crying mother. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong? What happened?" Danny felt his heart skip a beat. "We didn't lose another family member like when Uncle James died, did we?" He had remembered a few years ago that his parents had had that same look on their faces; the look someone wore when somebody died.

Maddie stared into her son's concerned face, her heart clenching at the sight. "Oh, honey...", she sucked in a deep breath. "Why... why didn't you tell us you were _dead_?"

Danny felt as if time had slowed down before crashing into him like a tsunami. He stumbled away, crawling backwards into the chair across the room before hiding himself behind the item. "Wha- what do you mean? I- hehe, I'm not _dead_, Mom! I'm literally standing right here!" He forced himself to stand up, spreading his arms wide.

Maddie only sobbed harder. "Oh, Danny! I figured it out! Stop lying and tell us the truth! We know you're Phantom! We know you're dead! We... we know now, honey, so just explain it to us. Help us understand." She hiccuped loudly, feeling herself sink into Jack's embrace.

Danny felt his breathing speed up. "When?"

"What?"

Danny's eyes became harder. "When did you figure out?"

Maddie sighed. "When I got the laundry, when your eyes were glowing green, when Phantom showed up in an inverted outfit that you'd been wearing only hours before, the slipping grades and absences. There's a lot of pieces that fit together now. If you wouldn't mind, could you... could you tell us... how it happened? You know, how you... how you _died_."

Danny felt himself glaring at the floor. "I'm not dead." He could hear a small sigh of relief. "At least not entirely."

Maddie sucked in a breath, Jack remaining silent. "I... when the portal didn't work two years ago, I couldn't stand the look on your faces, so I went inside the portal in hopes of fixing it for you. I... the on button had been on the inside. I tripped on some of the wiring, and accidentally slammed the button. It turned on while I was inside, electrocuting me." Maddie began to weep, Jack shedding a few tears himself. "The ectoplasm from the portal fused with me, so while the electrocution killed me, the ectoplasm saved me. I'm only half dead; the ghosts call me a Halfa. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was just scared you wouldn't love me anymore, and you both really hated the 'ghost boy' and we're determined to 'rip him apart molecule by molecule', so I never said anything." Danny stared at his feet in shame and nervousness, fear creeping into his system now that his parents knew the whole truth. Would they accept him? Would they still love him? Or would they experiment on him? Would they actually fulfill the words they said and truly rip him apart? And to think this whole incident could've been avoided if he hadn't left his laundry in the machine...

Maddie stood up, engulfing her son in a hug while Jack walked over and rubbed Danny's head affectionately. "Oh, baby, we're so sorry! We've been hunting our own son this entire time! Oh honey, we love you so much and I'm so sorry you felt like you couldn't trust us. Is this why you've been having such a hard time these past two years?" Danny nodded, and Maddie looked at Jack. "Don't worry, Danny. We're your parents, and we love you. We're here for you, and we'll never leave you, okay?"

Danny felt tears come to his eyes as he hugged his parents. Maybe having trouble with laundry wasn't so bad after all...

**A/N: So that's it! I actually had started this story towards the beginning of November, so the fact that I'm just now posting it over two months later is a little annoying. I'm terribly sorry for not putting anything up! I promise I've got plenty of fan fictions in the works right now though, and hopefully I'll be able to finish them soon!**

**Anyways, love you all and please read and review!**

**Love,**

**sKaEtrgrL**


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